Riber Castle
Riber Castle overlooks the country side around Matlock. It was designed and built by John Smedley in 1862 as his residence. The stone for the building came from a local quarry and was carted up hill by a series of pullys.
Smedley employed skilled craftsmen from all over the world. Because the castle was on such a steep 
hill a deep well was needed for the water supply.
Smedley died before its completion although his wife lived in it until her death. After her death it was turned into a boys school untill the declining economics of forced it's closure in the 1930's.
In 1940 the MOD used the building as a storage depot and replaced the roof with zinc sheeting which hastened it's demise.
After the MOD vacated the castle remained derelict for many years until, in the 1960s, a group of zoologists set up a Nature Reserve for British and European Fauna.
The Zoo closed in September 2000, it had been a subject of much criticism by CAPS (an organisation against animal mistreatment and zoos) and even featured in their Sad Eyes and Empty Lives video, the animals, fixtures and fittings were 
auctioned off on October 11th 2000.
Included in the list of ‘livestock’ to be sold, were wallabies, peccaries, reptiles, birds, otters, lynx and goats. At auction, a male lynx was sold for £20.
During my visit in July 2005 the place seemed to have become a bit of a local tourist attraction, we saw hikers, photography students and even whole families walking within the ruins. 
I was quite surprised at how much was there despite the vandalism, having studied in Animal Care for 3 years it was impossible not to notice how small some of the enclosures are and how most of the animals in there would have had little to no 
privacy from the prying eyes of the public.
I found this location quite a sad place and after reading about the mistreatment of the animals kept here I cant help but wonder the fate of those that were sold.